Buying a glider, advice on type and prices

On Wednesday, 31 August 2016 22:30:07 UTC+1, Paul T wrote:
OK think you said your in the Northern UK so my advice with the
money and the experience you have and if your looking to sell the ship
at some point and not lose money is to buy a good LS4a, LS8-18
(probably best option if you have around £40-45k to spend) or Discus..
Make sure they have good gel coats and ancillary equipment.

But best talk to your CFI your skill level and what he might think an
appropriate ship - maybe get some time in a high performance two
seater i.e. Duo Discus/DG1000 first.

In the UK you will find it harder to resell an ASW24, ASW27, ASW28,
SZD55, Pegase, Lak 17 or Ventus A/B/C than the above. ASW20's are
getting long in the tooth.

Ignore Americans who don't read threads entirely - there are lots on
here that will give well meaning but crap advice for the UK scene.

Thanks again everyone for keeping the discussion going, I'm learning a lot.
We don't have many high performance gliders at our site and few pilots seem to go cross country.
Have started visiting other clubs to fly different types with flaps etc. Also helping more to rig and see how easy or difficult they are.
Definitely keeping away from older types, gell coat problems, poor spares and heavy wings. I've built and maintained aircraft for years but no longer have the facilities, patience and time on my side to be repairing. I just want to fly as much as possible.

Essential that it is light and easy one man rig due to my age and lack of assistance most days.
In current production or easy to obtain spares.
Yes I would like it to have a good resale value if possible.
Discus, Discus 2 and LS8 keep popping up.
Not sure why a difference of opinion on the ASW27 and ASW28 otherwise these would be on the short list too. I thought they would be good machines and hold the price well?
SZD55 may not hold price so well but much cheaper to buy initially?
Semi-aerobatic would be a bonus, just the odd loop and chandelle on poor soaring days. (we get a lots of them!)
I'm not really in to competitions.

OK, My two cents..

Just get a one man rigger, and you won't ever have to lift the wing
roots any more. I have used one for the last 20+ years, and they
work great. The bonus is that you don't have to trust some non-
glider person from the general public to not drop a wing when you
don't have any savvy glider types around. You can even land after
everyone else has left the field, and de-rig by yourself.

I am also 6'2" tall and 205 Lbs. Until I got my Discus-2b in 1999,
I had never been really comfortable in almost all prior types I had
flown. I was always worried that I was either going to put my head
through the canopy on an off field landing, or my head was stuck so
far back (almost behind the canopy) that I had to use glare shield
mirrors in order to see other gliders behind my wing line in a
thermal. (positively dangerous at a WGC level with 50+ other
aggressively flown gliders in the same thermal with you)

I was amazed when I sat in the prototype D-2b at the factory. Tilo
and Biggo just had big smiles on their faces, and said "We finally
designed a cockpit where everyone can be comfortable." I couldn't
believe it when I put a normal chute on, left the seat back in place,
sat in the seat, had my legs flat on the floor, and had to pull the
rudder pedals back 2 notches. I have done a fair amount of contest
flying, and most of my competitors had always had a comfort
advantage over me before the D-2b. Not any more.. My D-2b is
now 17 years old (with no spar waves), and it still goes with the
best and the newest Standard Class that are out there today. Oh,
the handling also happens to be superb, and the control hook-ups
are automatic. Yes, the newer gliders are more expensive, but in
this case, I definitely got what I paid for, and it has been well worth
it for me....

Good luck..

RO




Thanks again everyone for keeping the discussion going, I'm
learning a lot.
We don't have many high performance gliders at our site and few
pilots
seem=
to go cross country.
Have started visiting other clubs to fly different types with flaps
etc.
Al=
so helping more to rig and see how easy or difficult they are.
Definitely keeping away from older types, gell coat problems, poor
spares
a=
nd heavy wings. I've built and maintained aircraft for years but no
longer
=
have the facilities, patience and time on my side to be repairing. I
just
w=
ant to fly as much as possible.

Essential that it is light and easy one man rig due to my age and
lack of
a=
ssistance most days.
In current production or easy to obtain spares.
Yes I would like it to have a good resale value if possible.
Discus, Discus 2 and LS8 keep popping up.
Not sure why a difference of opinion on the ASW27 and ASW28
otherwise
these=
would be on the short list too. I thought they would be good
machines and
=
hold the price well?
SZD55 may not hold price so well but much cheaper to buy
initially?
Semi-aerobatic would be a bonus, just the odd loop and chandelle
on poor
so=
aring days. (we get a lots of them!)
I'm not really in to competitions.

Another vote for the SZD 55 here - love mine, also over the discus I've flown at my club before. Super light wings, assembles almost by itself with automatic rudder connections. You just need one more guy and a wing stand an thats it. Self locking main wheel adds to safety, you will never experience a belly landing due to not sufficient locking force on the handle. Has a lot of room and a nice seating position. Buy a used one and you will not see a loss of money if you treat it well, speaking of treatment: older T35 gelcoat lives long if you give it the right care.

....automatic rudder connection...???

Do you remove the rudder or tail boom to trailer the ship?

On 12/2/2016 9:45 AM, wrote:
Another vote for the SZD 55 here - love mine, also over the discus I've flown at my club before. Super light wings, assembles almost by itself with automatic rudder connections. You just need one more guy and a wing stand an thats it. Self locking main wheel adds to safety, you will never experience a belly landing due to not sufficient locking force on the handle. Has a lot of room and a nice seating position. Buy a used one and you will not see a loss of money if you treat it well, speaking of treatment: older T35 gelcoat lives long if you give it the right care.

--
Dan, 5J

Dan, the German word for aileron is querrudder...

-John, Q3

On Friday, December 2, 2016 at 12:34:23 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
...automatic rudder connection...???

Do you remove the rudder or tail boom to trailer the ship?

On 12/2/2016 9:45 AM, wrote:
Another vote for the SZD 55 here - love mine, also over the discus I've flown at my club before. Super light wings, assembles almost by itself with automatic rudder connections. You just need one more guy and a wing stand an thats it. Self locking main wheel adds to safety, you will never experience a belly landing due to not sufficient locking force on the handle. Has a lot of room and a nice seating position. Buy a used one and you will not see a loss of money if you treat it well, speaking of treatment: older T35 gelcoat lives long if you give it the right care.

--
Dan, 5J